Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Thursday 8 July 1999

Scottish Executive

Health

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends in future to provide figures on the number of people suffering from M.E. as a separate category rather than including them in the chronic fatigue syndrome category.

Susan Deacon: There are no present plans to change the statistical collection system for ME/CFS. Information is collected from two sources: (1) records diagnoses in a sample of over 60 general practices in Scotland; (2) records hospital inpatient and day case discharges. Diagnoses recording on national systems is based on two types of classification, Read coding and the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Neither of these classification methods allows for the separate identification of ME, for which there is no definitive diagnostic test.

Housing

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the level of home ownership in Scotland.

Ms Wendy Alexander: A very large proportion of Scottish households aspire to home ownership, and we are keen to support them in realising this ambition whenever the financial circumstances of the household make this a sensible option. We will take account of responses to the Green Paper when determining how to take that forward.

Housing

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to withhold future grant payments to the Tenants’ Participation Advisory Service Ltd. until it is satisfied that the company has proper financial controls.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Yes.

Housing

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether (a) it will make available to all members the report produced for the Scottish Office, as agreed with the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS), by Scott Oswald CA into the management and financial arrangement of TPAS; (b) it will state whether the report was limited in its findings because of a lack of financial information available, and (c) it will state whether the report alleges that £60K allocated for this year’s core funding of TPAS has been utilised to clear VAT and PAYE deficit payments.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The report was commissioned by TPAS, not the Scottish Office. The report is currently with TPAS and the Scottish Executive awaits its response. All grant to the Tenant Participation Advisory Service is being withheld until the Scottish Executive is satisfied that proper financial controls are in place.

Housing

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, given that the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) is almost entirely funded by public money, it intends to carry out an urgent inquiry into the administrative and financial affairs of TPAS.

Ms Wendy Alexander: An independent investigation has already been carried out. The report is currently with TPAS and the Scottish Executive awaits its response. All grant to the Tenant Participation Advisory Service is being withheld until the Scottish Executive is satisfied that proper financial controls are in place.

Immigration

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what rights of consultation and consent it will have under the terms of the Immigration and Asylum Bill currently being considered by the Westminster Parliament, specifically as they relate to clauses 71 and 87 of the Bill.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Secretary of State is required, under clause 71 (clause 76 in the current version) of the Immigration and Asylum Bill, to obtain the approval of Scottish Ministers to remove the name of a designated Scottish professional body, if he considers that that designated professional body has consistently failed to provide effective regulation of its members in their provision of immigration advice or immigration services.

  The rights of consultation and consent of the Scottish Executive under clause 87 of the Bill (clause 92 in the current version) are under active consideration.

Immigration

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make available information relating to the number of people detained in Scotland under immigration or asylum legislation in the last three years, the establishments in which they have been detained and for how long, and whether it intends to provide additional accommodation for such people.

Mr Jim Wallace: In terms of the Scotland Act 1998, immigration and asylum are reserved matters for which the Home Secretary is responsible.

Justice

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the law relating to sequestration in Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: Consultation papers were issued by The Scottish Office in July 1997 and September 1998 on problems which had arisen with the application of the insolvency procedures under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985. We are considering the need for legislation in the light of the consultation responses.

Justice

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to give local authorities the power to appoint wardens to enforce speeding limits and collect fines.

Mr Jim Wallace: We believe that enforcement of speed limits, including the collection of fines, should remain the responsibility of the police. We do not believe that it would be appropriate to separate speeding offences from the criminal law more widely.

Parliamentary Questions

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to give a commitment that when it provides a holding reply to a written question within 14 days of it being lodged, the reason for this will be provided together with a timescale for reply.

Donald Dewar: No, but on each occasion every effort will be made to provide the requested information as soon as possible.

Rural Affairs

Ms Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are for consultation on the proposed level of fees for cattle passports.

Ross Finnie: The Cattle Tracing System (CTS) was launched in September 1999 and is run by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS). It supports our European and domestic obligations and provides for full traceability of cattle throughout their lives, enabling the livestock industry to provide the level of guarantees and assurances that their customers demand.

  Since its launch, BCMS has issued in excess of 2.3 million passports, or over 11,500 per day. Of these, 90% are issued within 3 working days of an application being received. In addition, since last September, nearly 1.5 million cattle movements have been recorded on the CTS database, and nearly a quarter of a million calls have been handled by the BCMS call centre.

  When the Government announced in February 1998 that it would pay for the set up costs of the CTS, and its running costs during the first full year of operation, it was also made clear that industry should expect to meet future running costs. It is therefore proposed to introduce charges from 27 September 1999 and a consultation document has today been issued seeking views on the level of charges, explaining what they cover and on methods of payment.

  In line with earlier predictions, we propose that the fee should be £7 per cattle passport. This does not include the cost of checks carried out by the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) at abattoirs which, it is further proposed, will be recovered directly. We estimate the cost to the abattoir sector is likely to be around £2m per annum.

  There are no plans to charge for temporary passports, known also as calf passports, as it is recognised that these animals are less valuable than older animals. However, the fee will become payable if a temporary passport is submitted for conversion to a full cattle passport.

  A copy of the consultation package, including a draft Regulatory Impact Assessment, has been placed in the Library of the Parliament. Comments are sought by 9 August. There will be separate consultations by the administrations in England and Wales, but it is expected that the fee will be at the same rate in all three countries of Great Britain.

Transport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to upgrade the A82, particularly the section between Tarbet and Inverarnan, and whether any upgrading would be affected by the proposed designation of the area as part of the Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

Sarah Boyack: There are no proposals to upgrade the A82 between Tarbet and Inverness.

Transport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an estimate of the proposed annual expenditure on the Lomond & Trossachs National Park, whether it will state from what source this annual expenditure will be funded and whether it proposes that any part of the expenditure will be met from road tolls and, if so, whether residents within the proposed National Park will require to pay these tolls.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Natural Heritage’s published advice to Government includes the estimate that total core operating costs for a National park in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, once up and running, would be £2.4m per year. New and existing programme costs were estimated at £2.5-£3.0m per year. Funding arrangements will be settled as we draft the National Parks Bill.

  I refer the member to the answer I gave to question (S1W-218) on road user charging.

Transport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends that the proposed policy of road tolls will apply to motorways, trunk routes and any other roads, and if so, whether the proposed tolls will apply to all roads within each category.

Sarah Boyack: No decision has been made on the introduction of road user charges on any trunk road or motorway, the roads for which the Scottish Executive is responsible. If any such proposals are developed in the future, they will be the subject of full consultation. In terms of other roads, the proposed Transport Bill will legislate to allow local authorities to introduce road user charging on roads for which they are responsible. The coverage of any such schemes will, therefore, primarily be a matter for individual authorities but all schemes will require the approval of Scottish Ministers.

Transport

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to facilitate greater use of public transport by people who suffer from visual impairment.

Sarah Boyack: We are working with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and transport operators to devise a scheme which will provide blind people with free concessionary travel on bus and rail services throughout Scotland. I am hopeful that such a scheme can be introduced on 1 December this year. The Scottish Executive also encourages local authorities to take into account, in developing future plans for roads and transport infrastructure, the guidelines issued to councils in January this year titled ‘Guidance on the use of Tactile Paving Surfaces’.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to commission estimates of the cost to the NHS of road accidents on the A77 and other trunk routes which are included in the review of Scotland’s Strategic Roads and, if so, whether it intends to publish these details.

Sarah Boyack: The appraisal framework developed for the Scottish Strategic Roads Review takes into account the estimated reduction in the number of accidents which would follow implementation of the schemes under review and the resulting savings in medical costs. We expect to report to Parliament on the review after the summer recess.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to commission estimates of the cost to the Scottish economy of congestion caused by the non-implementation of each of the 17 road investment priorities included in the Scottish Strategic Roads Review and, if so, whether it intends to publish these details.

Sarah Boyack: The appraisal framework developed for the Scottish Strategic Roads Review takes into account the estimated journey time savings which would accrue to road users if the schemes under review were to be implemented. A monetary value is then calculated for these savings using long-established appraisal methodology. We expect to report to Parliament on the review after the summer recess.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends that proposed work on trunk roads included in Scotland’s Strategic Roads review will only be allowed to proceed on the basis of funding from motorway tolls, city centre access charges, and self-financing PFI schemes.

Sarah Boyack: Funding is one of the issues being considered in the Strategic Roads Review. We expect to report to Parliament on the review after the summer recess.